Packing-machine.



PATBNTED MAR. 17, 1903.

J. c. THOM. PACKING MACHINE.

APPLIQATIONEILED SEPT. 4, 1901.

ZSHEETS-SHEET 1.

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No 723,072; PATENIKED MAR. 17, 1903.

J. c. THOM. PACKING MACHINE.

L APPLI OATIOH FILED SEPT. 4, 1901. H0 MODEL 2 SHEET'SSHEILT 2c in:noampcrens cc. mormlmng'wnsumewn. p. c

UNITED STATES PATENT Onricnt JAMES CRAWFORD THOM, OF I-IELMETTA, NEWJERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN SNUFF COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PACKING-MAGHINE- SEEGIFTCATION fornhingpart of Letters Patent N 0.723,072, dated March 17, 1903.

trea ent September 4,1901. senate. 14,312. (No model) To all whom, mayconcern.-

Be it known-that I, JAMES CRAWFORD? THOM, a citizen of; the UnitedStates, residing at Helmetta, county-of Middlesex, State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Packing-Mm chines,fully described and represented in the following specification and theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to machines for filling receptacles with loosematerial.

.The invention. has been made especially with the idea of providing amachine for packing snuff in the. prepared intestines or weasands inwhich it is now commonly put up for the retail trade; and the inventionaims to provide a machine of this kind by means i of which packagescontaining the desired quantity of snuff may be successively formedrapidly and economically.

As a full understanding ofthe invention can best be given by a detaileddescription of a preferred construction embodying the various featuresof the same, such a description will now be given in connection with theaccompanying drawings, which show a preferred form of machineconstructed in accordance with the invention intended especially forpacking snuff-bladders.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machinewith partsin section. Fig. 2 is a plan view; Fig. 3-isan enlarged sectional Viewof a portion of the machine. Fig. 4 is a detail view ona still largerscale, showing the package-former in side elevation. Fig. 5 is asectionon line 5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the outer member of thewrapper-holder.- Fig. 7 is asimilar view of the expander of theweasand-holder. Figs. 8 and 9 are sections on'the lines 8 and 9,respectively, of Fig. '1:

The various parts of the machine may be supported by any suitable frame.The snufi to be packed is placed in a hopper 10, from which it is fedthrough a feed tube or spout 11 by means of a feed-auger 12,whichextends from within thehopper into the tube 11 and preferably tothedelivery end thereof. This anger is carried by a shaft which extendsrearwardly beyond the hopper and which is driven by means ofa clutch 13,the driven sliding member 14 of which, as shown, is

splined on the auger-shaft'and the driving member 15 of which isjournaled on a stud 16 andis driven from a gear 17 on a shaft 18 throughan intermediate gear 19', engaging a ward, and thereby move the clutchmember 14 away from the member 15 to unclutch.

To prevent clogging 'of the snuff in the hopper and insure the properfeed through the tube 11, an agitator 27 is mounted on the auger-shaft,so as to rotate with the auger.

The weasand for forming the wrapper or receptacles for the snuff andwhich will generally be of a length to form several packages is placedabout the end of the feed-tube 11, the end of the weasand being broughttogether and tied beyond the end of the tube 11. The snuff is thenforced by the rotation of the auger 12 through the tube 11 and into theweasand, the end of which is thereby forced away from the end of thetube until the desired quantity of snuff for a package, has beenforcedinto the weasand. Then the filled end of the weasand is drawn a littlefarther off the tube, andthe weasand is tied to close the end of thepackage and to form the first end of the succeeding package. Then moresnuff is forced through the tube 11 to fill another section of theweasand to form the succeeding package, and these operations arerepeated until the length of weasand which has been placed about the endof tube 11 is used up. i

For convenience in placing the weasand about the tube 11 I preferablyprovide a wrapper-holder 30, which is formed of an outer expansibleshell 31, having a series of cylindrically-arranged tapering spring-fin-I00 the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 6 by means of aninner member or expander 32, which is in the form of a tube of a sizeadapted to slide freely on the tube 11. The weasand is placed about theouter expansible member 31 of the holder, and the expander 32 is theninserted, and the holder, with the weasand gathered upon it, is thenready to be placed in position on the tube 11.

A mold or former is supported by a carriage 41, which is mounted toreciprocate in a direction longitudinal of the tube 11'. This carriage41 may be of any suitable construction; but it is preferably and asshown formed by a tube or cylinder mounted to slide on a rod 42, whichis supported beneath the tube 11 and is of a length to extend aconsiderable distance beyond the delivery end thereof. The mold 40 ispreferably a divided mold, being formed of two half-cylindrical parts,which are hinged to the carriage 41, as by means of arms 43, sleeved onthe tube forming the carriage and held in position by means of collars44. The two parts of the mold are thus adapted to be thrown apart to theposition shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5to open the mold or to bebrought together to the position shown in full lines in Fig.5 to closethe mold, and they are of such form as to provide when closed achambercorresponding to the desired form of the package, closed at theforward end except for a central opening 2 of a size sulficient toaccommodate the short section of bladder to be left between the tiedends of adjacent packages and having at its rear end a central opening 3of such size that the mold may extend readily over the gathered-upbladder on the end of the tube 11 and holder 30. Closing-levers 45 arepivotally mounted on the carriage in position so that when thrown upwardthey will engage bearingstrips 46, carried by the mold-sections, andclose the mold and lock it in its closed position. The carriage 41 alsocarries two abutments and 51, respectively, to engage a ing 52 on theholder 30, which extends between them when the holderis in position onthe tube 11. These abutments 50 and 51 are preferably located so thatfor each reciprocation of the carriage the holder will be caused toreciprocate a distance substantially equal to the length of the packagethe holder moving forward as the weasand is drawn off during the formingof the package, and then being moved backward again to cause a length ofweasand for the next package to be drawn therefrom and straightened out.A spring-catch 53 is preferably provided to engage the wrapper-holderwhen itis placed on the tube 11 and prevent its moving forward beyondthe end of the tube and through the engagement of the collar 51 with thelug 52 to limit the forward movement of the carriage.

A table 55 is carried by the carriage 41 beyond the mold 40 forsupporting the formed packages. 1

The movements of the carriage are controlled by a lever 60, pivoted at61 on a suitable support from the frame and connected to the carriage bymeans of a fork engaging an antifriction-wheel 62, carried by thecarriage. The lever is under tension, as by means of a weight 63 on anarm 64, extending horizontally from the lever 60 to move the carriagerearward or toward the hopper. The lever 60 thus acts to oppose theforward movement of the carriage during the filling operation and toreturn the carriage for forming the succeeding package, as will behereinafter explained. I

The clutch-operating lever 22 when moved to throw the clutch intooperation is held in position against the tension of its weight 25 bymeans of a stop or catch 65, which catch is tripped to release the lever22 by the forward movement of the lever 60. For thus throwing the catch65 by the movement of the lever 60 I preferably provide a link 66,connected to an arm 67 of the lever 60 and having a pin-and-slotconnection 68 with the catch 65, so that during the first part of themovement of the lever 60 as the carriage moves forward during thefilling operation the catch 65 will not be moved, but when the carriageapproaches the end of its desired movement the catch 65 will be moved torelease the lever 22.

' The pin-andslot connection 68 between the catch 65 and the link 66 isprovided with an adjustable contact-piece, as the screw 69, by means ofwhich the time of operation of the catch 65 with relation to themovement of the lever 60 may be varied as desired. The length of themovement of the carriage before the unclutching of the clutch, andconsequently the length of the package, may thus be adjusted as desired.The weight 63 is adjustable longitudinally of the arm 64 for the purposeof varying the resistance to the movement of the carriage during thefeeding operation, and consequently varying the pressure under which thesnulf is packed and the amount of snufi packed in a package of givensize. For the purpose of giving the carriage a further forward movementafter the feeding-auger has been stopped to enable the ends of thepackages to be tied and to prevent the return of the carriage untildesired a foot-treadle 75 is provided, being connected with thelever-arm 64 by means of a cable 76.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The hopper being providedwith snuff, a holder having a weasand gathered thereon and with the endof the weasand tied beyond the end of the holder isfplaced upon the feedspout or tube 11, with its lug 52 extending between abutments 50 and 51on the carriage. The mold 40 being opened, the carriagevis then allowedto move rearwardly to the position shown in Fig. 1, and the mold isclosed and locked by means of the lovers 45 about the end of the tube 11and the weasand thereand 2, thus drawing a length of weasand 01f theholder. The lever 22 will then be thrown upward until engaged bythecatch 65, thereby throwing the. sliding member 14 of the clutch intoclutching position and causing the feed-anger 12 to rotate and forcesnuflt'through the tube 11 and into the end of the weasand, and as thesnufi is forced from the tube 11 into the weasand the end of the packagethus being formed will engage the end of the mold and force the mold andcarriage forward against the tension of the lever 60. The snuff beingforced into the end of the wea'sand under pressure will press the sameoutward in alldirections against the sides of the mold, so as to form apackage corresponding to the shape of the inside of the mold. Thisfilling movement will continue until by the movement of the lever thecatch is thrown to release the lever 22, whereupon the lever 22,. beingthrown by its weight 23, will move the sliding member 14 of the clutchaway from the member 15, thereby interrupting the driving of thefeed-auger 12. The operator will then by means of the foot-treadle givethe carriage a slight further forward movement to move the mold from theposition indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3 to the position shown infull lines in said figure to enable him to tie the binding-strings ababout the weasand between the mold 'and the-end of the tube 11,

the string a being tied close to the mold to close the end of thepackage just filled and the string 19 a short distance therefrom to formthe end of the succeedingpackage. The

levers 45 arethen thrown downward to permit thamold to open, and thefoot-treadle 75 beingreleased the carriage will move rearwardly againunderthe influence of the weight 63, actingthrough the lever 60 to bringthe mold into position to be closed again about the end of the feed-tube11 and the weasand thereon. The lever 22 then being again thrown forwardthe filling of a second package will commence, and these operations willbe repeated until the length ofweasand which has been used up.

It will be seen that by providing for the adjustment of the time forthrowing the catch "65withrelation to the movement of the lever 60 andfor adjusting the tension of the lever 60 I am enabled to secure a veryaccurate measurement of the quantity of snuff in each package.

It will be understood that the invention as claimed is not limited tothe exact construc tion and arrangement of parts as in the preferredform of machine shown in the drawings and to which the above descriptionhas been mainly confined. It will be understood also that while themachine has been designed especially for packing snuff in weasands orsimilar wrapping-tubes, yet it may placed on the holder is be used forpacking other substances or materials for which it may be found adaptedand that features of the invention may be employed in machines forpacking snufi or other materials in other forms and kinds of packages.

What I claim is- V l. The combination of a feed-spout, means for forcingmaterial through the feed-spout, a package-mold adapted to be opened topermit the removal of the package, a support for the packages beyond themold, and means for permitting the mold to be moved away from thefeed-spout against yielding tension, substantially as described.

2. The combination ofa feed-spout, means for forcing material throughthe feed-spout, a reciprocating carriage, means for permitting thecarriage to be moved away from the feed-spout against yielding tension,and a packagemold mounted on the carriage and having a central openingat the end away from the feed-spout and adapted to be openedlongitudinally on lines extending through said opening, substantially asdescribed.

' 3. The combination of a feed-spout, means for forcing material throughthe feed-spout, a reciprocating carriage, means for permitting thecarriage to be moved away from the feed-spout against yielding tension,a package-mold mounted on the carriage and having a central opening atthe end away from the feed-spout and adapted to be opened longitudinallyon lines extending through said opening, and a package-support mountedon the carriage beyond the mold, substantially as described.

at. The combination of a feed-spout, means for forcing material throughthe feed-spout, a reciprocating package-mold, means for permitting themold to be moved away from the feed-spout against yielding tension, saidmold being adapted to be opened after filling of a package and to beclosed after its return movement, and a package-support beyond the moldand mounted to reciprocate therewith, substantially as described.

5. The combination of a feed-spout, feeding devices for feeding materialthrough the feed-spout, a package-mold arranged to move away from thefeed-spout during the filling of a package and having a central openingat the end away from the spout and adapted to be opened longitudinallyon lines extending through said opening, and meansfor giving the mold afurther movement after the filling of a package to enable the end of thepackage to be closed, substantially as described.

6. The combination of a feed-spout, feeding devices for forcing materialthrough the feed-spout, a package-mold, means for permitting the mold tobe moved away from the feed-spoutagainst yielding tension, said moldhaving a central opening at the end away from the feed-spout and adaptedto be opened longitudinally on lines extending through said opening,means for stopping the opera- &

tion of the feeding devices controlled by the 7. The combination of afeed-spout, feed-' ing devices for forcing material through thefeed-spout,'a reciprocating carriage, means for permitting the carriageto be moved away from the feed-spout against yielding tension, apackage-mold secured to the carriage and comprising two separablelongitudinal sections, means for stopping the operation of the feedingdevices controlled by the movement of the carriage, and means for givingthe carriage a further movement away from the feedspout after thestopping of the operation of the feeding devices and for returning thecarriage, substantially as described.

8. The combination of a feed-spout, feeding devices for forcing materialthrough the feed-spout, a reciprocating package-mold under yieldingtension to move toward the feedspout, means for stopping the operationof the feeding devices controlled by the movement of the package-mold,and means for giving the package-mold a further movement away from thefeed-spout after the stopping of the operation of the feeding devicesand for releasing the package-mold for its return movement, thepackage-mold being adapted to be opened after the filling of a packageand to be closedafter its return movement, substantially as described.

9. The combination of a feed-spout, feeding devices for forcing materialthrough the feed spout, a reciprocating package mold, means forpermitting the mold to be moved away from the feed-spout againstyielding tension, said mold having a central opening at the end awayfrom the feed-spout and adapted to be opened longitudinally on linesextending through said opening, means for stopping the operation of thefeeding devices, a member for controlling the operation of said means,means for operating said member, and means for adjusting the time ofoperation of said member with relation to the movement of the mold,substantially as described.

10. The combination ofafeed-spout, awrap- I per-holder on thefeed-spout, feeding devices for forcing material through the feed-spout,and a package-mold supported beyond the end of the feedspout,substantially as described.

11. The combination of a feed-spout, a wrapper-holder mounted to slideon the feedspout, and devices for feeding material through thefeed-spout, a reciprocating package-carrier, and means for reciprocatingthe wrapper-holder with the carrier, substantially as described.

12. The combination of a feed-spout, a wrapper-holder mounted to slideon the feedspout, feeding devices for forcing material through thefeed-spout, a reciprocating package-mold having a movement greater thana package length, and means for reciprocating the wrapper-holder withthe mold, the length of the reciprocations of the wrapper-holderbeingless than the reciprocations of the mold, substantially asdescribed.

13. The combination ofa feed-spout, a wrapper-holder mounted to slide onthe feedspout, feeding devices for forcing material through thefeed-spout, a reciprocating package-mold under yielding tension to movetoward the feed-spout, means for stopping the operation of the feedingdevices when the desired quantity of material has been fed from thefeed-spout, means for giving the mold a further movement away from thefeed-spout after the stopping of the operation of the feeding devices,and connections between the mold and the Wrapper-holder for giving theWrapper-holder a reciprocating movement of less length than the totallength of the reciprocating movements of the mold, substantially asdescribed.

14. A wrapper-holder comprising an outer expansible member having acylindrically-arranged series of tapering spring-fingers, and a tubularinner expanding member, substantially as described.

15. The combination of a hopper, a feedspout extending from the hopper,afeed-auger extending from within the hopper into the feed-spout, and anagitator 27 mounted to rotate around the axis of the feed-auger adjacentto the portion thereof within the hopper, substantially as described.

16. The combination of afeed-spout, means for feeding material throughthe feed-spout, a reciprocating package-carrier for supporting thepackages as they are being filled, and a package-support arranged toreciprocate withthe carrier, substantially as described.

17. The combination of the feed-spout 11,

reciprocating carriage 4:1, and package-mold 4:0 and package-support 55on the carriage 41, substantially as described.

18. The combination of the feed-spout 11, a reciprocating carriage, anda package-mold 40 formed of two half-cylindrical sections pivoted on thecarriage, substantially as described.

19. The combination of the feed-spout 11, a reciprocating carriage, anda package-mold 40 formed of two half-cylindrical sections pivoted on thecarriage and having their ends formed to provide a central opening 2 atthe end of the mold away from the feed-spout and a larger centralopening 3 at the end toward the feed-spout, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JAMES CRAWFORD THOM.

